​Understanding a Rabbit's Body Language

If you have a rabbit, or in fact, any animal, you should learn to understand its body language. Rabbits don't communicate like any other species, they have their own individual language that humans must learn in order to understand their needs. By not understanding your rabbit's behavior, you are more likely to make mistakes and not give the rabbit what it needs to be happy.

Having owned a menagerie of animals for my whole life, I tend to see things that new owners usually wouldn't. Sadly there are a lot of 'instant experts' in the animal world who think that because they have two rabbits, or because they had a rabbit 20 years ago they MUST know everything about its behavior. It's sad to think how many people just don't understand what their pet's behaviors mean. For example, did you know that aggressive, dominant dogs often wag their tails? And fearful guinea pigs often purr? The same concept applies to rabbits. I frequently hear from owners that their rabbit is 'stressed' because it has a fast heart rate. They don't seem to understand that the resting heart rate of a rabbit is 120-150 beats per minute.

Does anyone remember the video that was on Facebook of the rabbit jumping in the leaves? It looked so happy playing, right? Well, actually, that rabbit was acting territorial, stressed, and aggressive. It was pouncing on the leaves. That was not a happy rabbit. It would have readily bitten the owner if they hadn't gotten out of the way each time. But because it seems like the kind of thing a happy human would do, many people, even rabbit owners, saw it as cute and funny.

Another example is how I was told that a rabbit was pinning its ears in aggression because it had a slipped crown. Or how because the rabbit hopped to the back of the cage, it hated its owner. Or how a rabbit was grooming itself because it hated being at a rabbit show. None of this makes any logical sense.

If you want to take initiative and learn about how your animal communicates with you, I highly recommend talking to a breeder. Show them a video of the behavior you don't understand, and also mention what you do in response to the behavior. Breeders would usually be happy to offer their advice. Rescue volunteers often don't understand the body language as easily as breeders, so they would be a second resort if you haven't got a breeder who will agree to help you. A breeder would also be able to teach you how to improve your rabbit's behavior if it is causing issues, whereas a rescue would often (though not always) tell you to just put up with it.

I strongly urge all animal owners to work to understand the true meaning of their animal's behavior. By understanding your animal's behavior, you will make yourself a better owner for them, and vastly improve your pet's quality of life.